Robots and Drones Take Over Classrooms

The future of education is set to go through a massive change with the deployment of interactive boards, laptops, VR gadgets and online learning plans. It has already being said that this generation of kids are getting much different kind or education in a different medium than their parents or grandparents has achieved in the past. Artificial intelligence is breaking new grounds while robotics has gone through a rapid phase of development which makes it easier to bring it in the classrooms with more confidence than before.

Robots & drones in the schools

In September last year London Design & Engineering University technical college offered a chance to over 180 pupils to have a technology based education experience. Their curriculum of 12 weeks allowed kids to experience education not based on traditional chalk board pattern but with reliance on the technology. One group of students was asked to design their own virtual reality environment right from the scratch which offers a journey to the Ethiopian village. This was used to highlight the need of charity in the Water Aid.

A number of primary schools are convinced with the need of starting learning of coding at the younger age. As a reason a number of after school code clubs has emerged which makes use of DIY computers like BBC’s Micro Bit and the Raspberry Pi for tinkering with the coding and sharpening the skills further. A company worth naming here is Tynker which has brought the elegant coding through gaming philosophy to more than 60,000 schools in US. Quite recently it has started a new project which includes teaching coding through drone lessons in an exciting manner.

A new reality comes to classrooms

We are soon venturing into a future wherein students will be interacting or studying in a virtual reality based environment with the help of a headset. Students will not just grasp the information but they will interact with it in form of holograms explaining the intricate solar system or the space itself. The application of Augmented Reality popularly seen in Pokemon Go mobile game and Virtual Reality can emerge as the next frontier. A number of studies have shown that the use of VR devices helps students in intently performing tasks along with developing the ability to adapt to multiple disciples.

Microsoft HoloLens is creating waves across the world by bringing a mixed reality environment to the users in an engaging fashion. Microsoft has worked in closely with the Case Western Reserve University in order to develop a complete hologram of human body. This hologram will offer a great an enriching way for the pupils to understand the human body by effectively dissecting all the different bones, veins and organs of the body in extreme detail.

Apart from this hologram Microsoft is actively working with Pearson group which is well known education provider to develop more enhanced education resources for its HoloLens. However buying HoloLens will not be feasible for the schools at the moment as it costs a massive £2719 for the developer edition.

A Row Bot that Loves Dirty Water

Row-bot/Robot Feeds on Rich Organic Matter in Dirty Water

Swimming in the sea or a pool of polluted water could be unsafe though aquatic organism like water boatman would need the nutrients in polluted water to feed on. Researchers at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory – BRL have been motivation by the water beetles and other swimming insects and have developed the Row-bot, a type or a robot which tends to thrive in dirty water.

The Row-bot imitates the way the water boatman move and the way which it tends to feed on rich organic matter in the dirty water in which it swims. The purpose of the Row-bot project is focused to develop an autonomous swimming robot which is capable of operating indefinitely in remote unstructured areas by huntingits energy from the environment. When it tends to get hungry, the Row-bot opens it soft robotic mouth and rows forward to fill its microbial fuel cell – MFC, stomach with nutrient rich dirty water.

Thereafter it tends to close its mouth and the nutrients are gradually digested. The MFC stomach utilises the bio-degradation of organic substanceto generate electricity using bio-inspired mechanisms. When it has been recharged its electrical energy stores, the Row-bot then rows off to another new area for another drink of dirty water.

Row-bot – Environmental Clean-up Operation of Contaminants

The Row-bot had been developed at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in collaboration between the University of Bristol and UWE Bristol by PhD student, Hemma Philamore together with her PhD supervisors, Professor Jonathan Rossiter from the University of Bristol’s Department of Engineering Mathematics and Professor Ioannis Ieropoulos from the Bristol Bio-Energy Centre at the University of the West of England. Professor of Robotics at the University of Bristol and BRL, Jonathan Rossiter informed that the work shows a vital step in the progress of autonomous robots with the potential of long-term self-power. Several of the robots tend to need re-charging or refuelling and often need human assistance.

A PhD student, Hemma Philamore stated that they anticipate Row-bot to be used in environmental clean-up operations of contaminants like oil spills as well as harmful algal bloom and also in long term autonomous environmental monitoring of harmful environments, for instance those which were hit by natural as well as man-made disasters.

Combination of Two Systems – Bio-Inspired Energy Source/Bio-Inspired Actuation

The sample robot combines two systems namely a bio-inspired energy source and bio-inspired actuation. While the first subsystem portrays the power generations potential of the robot, the second duplicate system begins the refuelling process, moving the robot with an energy needed which is less than the energy that is generated by the first system.

 This has been achieved by feeding of the chemical energy contained in its surrounding liquid to support microbial metabolism within the MFC.Imitating the water boatman’s mechanism of feeding that works on a broad beaklike mouth to sweep in the liquid as well as suspended particulate matter, the Row-bot tends to feed its MFC stomach on opening and closing the mouth life orifice at each end of the MFC by bending of a flexible acetate envelope structure.

On utilising both of these systems, the robot tends to be totally independent in the water with the provision of enough energy available in the liquid.

Keecker- Interesting Machine That Can Move Around Your Room

Keecker is a type of mobile computer  Robot that consists of a projector along with an audio structure on a mobile base and also a group of potentially attractive sensors. However, its designers do not imagine it as a robot. CEO, Pierre Lebeau stated that robots are often portrayed as utilitarian and mechanized man’s tasks, and it is not parallel to Keecker. In fact, they really deemed Keecker as the development of computers and it is 100 percent made for a house or collective atmosphere.

Some hardware and software of the system-

It is a number of sensors and figures that is utilized to help this Keecker to be in motion, lock-in on people and keep away from obstacles. The manufacturers apply a combination of infrared with ultrasound signals, manifold camera imagery system and also Wi-Fi network method and many more.
The machine possesses some of the autonomous abilities.

Keecker shifts from one room to another room and can remember definite spots in your home. Therefore you can order it to go from one spot to another in only one click. You may even manage this Keecker yourself from your own Smartphone even though you are not at home. It is because it will run its camera to your handset and will allow you shift it in actual time.

Keecker can moreover be programmed to shift from room to room in the day or at night to test if all is normal. When the charge of battery is low, this device goes back to revive itself.

In accordance with Lebeau, while you first take Keecker into your home it starts moving around, by means of a 360-degree camera on its head to work out the ground space. When that mapping is finished, you may name every room, then you can point Keecker to move there with the valve of a switch. Lebeau was motivated by cleaning bots such as the Roomba, but he did not want Keecker to be exactly the same. Roomba can just hit into the wall and it is very stupid-like.

When you are out of the home it can be set to identify motion and check temperature, moisture, and CO2 amount. It can also change your babysitter, or even let you to simply keep a watch on her from the ease of your Smartphone. This device also contains a microphone, permitting it to act as a center for video calls or get voice commands. You can connect it with your phone via Bluetooth.

Length of the device-

Keecker is a supple, plastic orb that is about eleven inches broad and sixteen inches in length. It goes around the floor on a couple of wheels, which make it appear like a remote. You can manage it on your phone through an app for iOS system or Android.

Thus, when bring home this HomePod, Keecker and take it out from its container, it would start to look around, examining every part of the room. Later, you can instruct it to go to a specific position in your house, from your app.

United States Hospitals Will Use Robots to Kill Ebola

With the increasing number of cases of the Ebola virus all around the world, it has been able to create an extreme level of panic in every person. Ebola being one of the deadliest viruses can kill a person within a few days after the symptoms appear. If people being informed about various precautionary measures, there is no doubt that this virus can spread as quickly as a wildfire.

With the remote decontamination service market expected to have a good growth, many countries are leaving no stone unturned to handle the virus. Authorities in Madrid have already declared that they will euthanize the dogs of the people who contract Ebola outside Africa. Dogs seem to be showing the symptoms later on. WHO has already declared this situation to be completely unavoidable with increasing number of Ebola cases in Europe.

What is the robot all about? 

With the recent incident of emergency landing of the US Airlines Flight 2791, it has again given rise to the fact that Ebola can be highly infectious in airplanes. Hospitals around the world are taking measures to tackle this virus and they have gone to the extent to using a robot, called Ebola bot or little more. This robot was made by texas-based Xenex Disinfection services, which is basically a UV bulb being moved around on wheels. Although the machine costs around $115000 also, nearly 250 hospitals in America have already started using the device. This robot is being used to treat the first person who was diagnosed with the virus.

The robot emits UV lights which can kill the bacteria, destroys virus, bacteria and other infectious bugs, where ever the light practically falls on. This virus has the tendency to survive for 6 days on solid surfaced and spreads through faces, urine, vomit and blood. The aim of this robot is to eliminate any potential source for virus spreading.

This robot has the capability to clean an entire hospital within 5 minutes and also destroy the Ebola virus. It has the capacity to scatter 1.5 pulses every second in every direction to kill the virus.

Uses of this Robot: 

This robot will be mainly used to protect the healthcare workers in the hospitals, so that they are healthy to treat the ailing patients. According to Mark Stibich, Xenex’s chief science officer, they are ultimately aiming to ensure that the virus doesn’t spread outside the hospital. The company is in touch with government and other agencies to find out ways to tackle the situation in Africa.

What is the Advantage? 

Currently, most of the hospitals are spraying chlorine on these workers, but it can’t guarantee complete disinfection. UV rays will ensure that nothing is missed out. Although currently this robot requires manual operation, the company is hoping to make it automatic so that it can send to infected areas to handle the situation. Recent reports have claimed that the use of this robot has reduced the number of infection cases bay nearly 50 percent.

The Orbotix Sphero 2B Robot Can Travel Faster Than Man

 

The U.S. Company Orbotix has introduced a successor to the rolling robot Sphero. The U.S. manufacturer Orbotix exhibited their new electronic toy robo at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

The name of the Robot is Sphero 2B. Sphero 2B is a cylinder with two wheels, which is operated with a mobile device. The Sphero 2B is cylindrical and quite fast.

It is the successor of the ball Sphero robot 2 and it is controlled by the robot via an app. They are already available for Android and for iOS. A version for Windows Phone is in the works, said a spokesman of Orbotix. Data transmission is done via Bluetooth which consumes less energy.

The robot battery is charged via a USB interface. Sphero 2B reaches a speed of over 15 km / h. It is driven by both wheels and at the same time both wheels are driven independently. The manufacturer makes little detail about technical details.

And he elaborated about the details like Wheels, tires and wheel covers which are interchangeable. In addition there are other apps also, such as Augmented Reality games (AR). The Sphero 2B is equipped with infrared sensors, with which two robots can shoot each other. Orbotix provides Software Development Kits, with the help of which users can program the robot by themselves.

Sphero 2B is the successor of Sphero 2, - as the name suggests - is spherical. The user can let the ball robots, also controlled by the tablet or Smartphone to roll. He can use it as a controller for games. The Sphero 2B will be available in black and white. He will come to the market at the earliest. According to Orbotix the price of the Sphero 2B is around $ 100.

Project Smart Sand: Sand man within reach of robot

We have already had to deal with spam servers, sports coaches and even robots that manufacture other, but robots that have the ability to replicate forms, remains an unexplored area.

This project called Smart Sand (for sand intelligent) has the ultimate objective of enabling the design of mini-robots as big as grains of sand. These robots will interact with each other from information, stick to each other physically responds intelligently to a given shape.

Laboratories: looks like the high-tech of the future - III

Kilobots

Researchers at Harvard University have developed a technology that facilitates the testing of algorithms group on hundreds or thousands of tiny robots. Kilobots called, these robots the size of an insect moving on three legs, interacting and coordinating their actions as a team. A report from Harvard in June 2011 introduced a set of 25 robots performing different actions in a group, such as drilling, development training, and synchronization.